1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to watthour meters and, more specifically, to mounting attachments for watthour meters.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Electrical watthour meters have long been used to measure the amount of electrical power consumed by a particular machine or electrical utility customer. Watthour meters have been constructed in various configurations depending upon the type of electrical service that is required. Typically, the watthour meters have a circular cross-section and are mounted on a wall or support surface of a building or residence. They include gauges which indicate the amount of power consumed by the customer. Older watthour meters of the so-called bottom connected type are formed of a single piece housing in which the watthour meter was fixedly mounted along with terminals which provided connection to the building wiring. Any defect in the watthour meter requires replacement of the entire housing. To overcome this problem, socket-type watthour meters have been devised in which the watthour meter plugs into a base having contacts connected to terminals and the building wiring. This enables defective watthour meters to be easily replaced without removing the entire housing and internal conductors.
However, despite the advantages afforded by currently available socket-type watthour meters, improvements are still durable in the ease of manufacture of the socket-type housing, an adapter which would easily convert existing bottom connector watthour meter housings to a socket-type housing and a watthour meter housing which providing effective surge potential.